Julia Novikova, Soprano

Julia Novikova is best known for her interpretation of Gilda in the television production «Rigoletto a Mantova» (directed by Marco Bellocchio), which was filmed in the original locations and transmitted live to 148 countries. The opera was conducted by Zubin Mehta and the cast included Placido Domingo as Rigoletto, Ruggero Raimondi as Sparafucile and Vittorio Grigolo as Duca di Mantova. She won both the 1st Prize and the Audience Prize at OPERALIA 2009 Plácido Domingo's The World Opera Competition in Budapest.

In December 2015, Novikova had another success as Gilda at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a new production of Rigoletto, conducted by Zubin Mehta. In 2016, she sang her first Lucia di Lammernmoor at Bonn Opera, Gilda at Bratislava National Theatre, Amore (Orfeo et Euridice) at Berlin State Opera and made her debut at Grand Opera de Genève as Musetta in a new production of La Bohème. In 2017, she made her debut as Violetta in La Traviata in Prague. During the past seasons, she sang Zerbinetta in Toulon, Taipei and Budapest State Opera, the title role of Lakmé in Santiago de Chile, Gilda in Antibes in the production of Opera de Monte-Carlo, Oscar at Théâtre Capitole du Toulouse, Jemmy (Guillaume Tell) in Monte Carlo and Paris. She had her debut as First Flower- Maiden in a new production of Parsifal at Berlin Sate Opera, directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov and conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Recent performances also include a gala performance of Rigoletto with Paolo Gavanelli in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Zerbinetta at the Aalto Theater in Essen, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and Le Rossignol in Concergebouw in Amsterdam. The engagements during the season 2011-2012 featured among others the roles of Königin der Nacht, Oscar, Fiakermilli (Arabella) at Vienna State Opera, Gilda at Teatro Verdi (Trieste), the roles of Amour/ Roxane/Zima (Les Indes galantes) in Toulouse, and Königin der Nacht (Das Labyrinth) at the Salzburg Festival. In 2011, she was highly acclaimed in Bonn for her performance of the title role in Bellini’s La Sonnambula, and later that same summer for the title role in Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol at the Quebec Opera Festival and at the Salzburg Festival.

After her debut with the Vienna State Opera as Königin der Nacht in November 2009, Julia Novikova returned there to sing Adina, Oscar, Zerbinetta and Königin der Nacht. In recent seasons, she also gave guest performances as Gilda at the Komische Oper Berlin, Olympia in Frankfurt, Norina (Don Pasquale) at Washington National Opera. In 2008, she made her debut with Oper Frankfurt as Königin der Nacht and also performed the same role with Bonn, Hamburg, Vienna State Opera and Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Further, Julia performed Medoro in Vivaldi's Orlando Furioso, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, and Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (all in Bonn), Gilda in Rigoletto (Lübeck and Bonn), Olympia in Les Contes d ́Hoffmann (Komische Oper Berlin), Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos (Strasbourg), Adina in L’elisir d’amore (Bonn), Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Stuttgart), and Gretel in Hänsel and Gretel (Lyon). From 2006 to 2008, she was a member of the Theater Dortmund ensemble, where she performed Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Queen of Shemakha in The Golden Cockerel and Gilda in Rigoletto. Julia Novikova gave concerts and recitals performing at the Grachten Festival in Amsterdam, Les estivales de musique in Médoc, Theatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, the Carnegie Hall in New York, Budapest National Opera, the Royal Opera House and the Barbican Centre in London and the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory. She was a soloist at Christmas in Vienna 2012.

She also performed the soprano parts in Mahler’s 4th Symphony in St.Petersburg and Monte-Carlo and Mahler’s 8th Symphony in Palau de la Musica in Valencia.

Julia Novikova is a Prize Winner of the Wilhelm Stenhammar International Music Competition in Sweden (3rd Prize, 2006), Concours de Geneve (Audience Prize, 2007), Neue Stimmen, Germany (Audience Prize, 2007), and Musik Debüt, Germany (1st Prize, 2008).She won both the 1st Prize and the Audience Prize at OPERALIA 2009 Plácido Domingo's The World Opera Competition in Budapest.​Julia Novikova studied opera singing at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory (prof. Olga Kondina) in her native city of St. Petersburg, and made her first stage experience during her studies, singing Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Serbian in La Serva Padrona, and Marfa in The Tsar's Bride.In 2006, she made her professional stage debut with the Mariinsky Theatre, performing Flora in The Turn of the Screw (Valery Gergiev, conductor).